Hazare’s letter came in response to Modi’s speech while inaugurating the NDA government’s nationwide Smart Cities Project in Pune on June 25.

Citing the example of his own village Ralegan-Siddhi in Ahmednagar district with 2,500 people, he said that by following Gandhiji’s ideals, the village with 80 percent starvation rate now produced agriculture produce worth crores of rupees and at least 5,000 liters of milk daily.

He said the local youths were fully employed and earn more than what they would if they had migrated to cities. Instead, they now hire families from outside to labour in the village.

Hazare said between 1857 and 1947, thousands of people sacrificed their lives for the freedom struggle, but yet real democracy eludes the country without decentralization of power.

“In the wake of the above, people are confused as to who is right – Gandhi who advocated rural development or Modi who promotes urbanization. This is the question in the minds of the masses,” Hazare said.